Send Out the Clowns (14 Mar. 2012)

Cameron reunites an old clown act despite Mitchell's warnings, Phil plays hardball with a rival to get a listing, Manny's new "friend" has a crush on Gloria, and Claire wants her daughters to friend her on Facebook.

Director:

Steven Levitan

Writers:

Christopher Lloyd (creator), Steven Levitan (creator),

Stars:

Ed O'Neill, Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Ed O'Neill	...	Jay Pritchett
Sofía Vergara	...	Gloria Delgado-Pritchett
Julie Bowen	...	Claire Dunphy
Ty Burrell	...	Phil Dunphy
Jesse Tyler Ferguson	...	Mitchell Pritchett
Eric Stonestreet	...	Cameron Tucker
Sarah Hyland	...	Haley Dunphy
Ariel Winter	...	Alex Dunphy
Nolan Gould	...	Luke Dunphy
Rico Rodriguez	...	Manny Delgado
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons	...	Lily Tucker-Pritchett
Ellen Barkin	...	Mitzi Roth
Bobby Cannavale	...	Lewis
Guilford Adams	...	Chuckleberry
Chris Dollard	...	Bubbles

Storyline

The funeral service for a beloved clown mentor reunites Cameron with his estranged ex-clown partner, Lewis; Phil is serious about landing a very important listing, only to get trumped by a notorious bulldozer of an agent, Verna Roth; and Manny has a cool new friend, which makes both Jay and Gloria suspicious.

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Plot Keywords:

clown | facebook | crush | funeral | cereal | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Levitan / Lloyd, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Goofs

As Cam is arguing with Mitchell and emptying his bag of clown supplies, he takes out the stuffed hot dog twice. It's the second item he pulls out and the last.

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Quotes

Phil Dunphy: [a rival realtor has stolen his account] You're not gonna believe this. Mitzi got the listing.
Claire Dunphy: Oh, no, honey. That's awful!
Phil Dunphy: She cheated, she lied, and she won. Kids, gather round.
Haley Dunphy: Again, we are gathered.
Phil Dunphy: You want to get ahead? Don't play by the rules. Turns out nice guys finish last in this cold dog-eat-dog world.
Luke Dunphy: It's not fair. Why don't you play dirty, too? You could take her down.
Claire Dunphy: Oh, honey, 'cause your dad is a better man than that. He has values and morals and...
Phil Dunphy: Shh... You, keep talking.
Luke Dunphy: ...
[...]

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Connections

References Happy Days (1974)

User Reviews

Death of the mentor

The death of Cameron's mentor when he tried to be a full time clown, bring him back together with his former partner, Lewis, at the burial ceremony. Lewis secretly wants to revive what they had as an act, but that does not sit well with Mitchell. Eventually Cam realizes his Fizbo days are over.

Meanwhile, Phil has an almost sure deal in getting a list for a great house, but little does he know he will be competing against Mitzi Roth, a ruthless woman who will employ all the tricks in the book to steal a sale from anyone. Phil figures he will have to do something about it, if he is going to stay competitive. He brings Luke to help him against the powerful Mitzi.

At Jay's house things are looking good for Manny. He has found a pal in Griffin, who happens to be the coolest boy in his class. Unfortunately, Manny comes across too strong to be anyone's favorite kid. Griffin, it turns out, has an ulterior motive for getting closer to Manny: his mother Gloria, the sexy woman everyone admires.

Directed by the series' creator Steven Levitan. The script is by Mr. Levitan, Jeffrey Richman and Bill Wrubell. The director keep things moving at a good pace. Unfortunately, Cam's Fizbo is not exactly the best thing in the sitcom, or for that matter the way the creators have decided to make Manny a regular fuzzy Casanova with poor results. One does not believe for a moment a boy his age would act like that for a moment.

On the positive side, the great Ellen Barkin puts in a surprising appearance as Mitzi Roth, and Bobby Cannavale shows up as Lewis, Cam's old clown partner.